Lewis Hamilton ended his 11-year association with Mercedes as he finished the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in fourth place while Lando Norris won the race to hand McLaren the constructors’ championship, Afrosport reports.
McLaren was in battle with Ferrari for the constructors title and Norris led from start to finish to give the Woking outfit their first crown since 1998 while Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who started 19th after taking a grid penalty, completed the podium.
Meanwhile, Ferrari-bound Hamilton started 16th and drove a strong race to claim fourth ahead of his Mercedes teammate George Russell.
Speaking on the team radio after he crossed the chequered flag, the seven-time world champion said: “The pleasure has been mine. We dreamed alone but together we believed.
“As a team we achieved things. Thank you for the courage, the determination and the passion to support me.
“What started out as a leap of faith ended up as a journey into the history books.
“We did everything together. I am so grateful to everyone at the factory.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
A remarkable chapter in F1 history comes to a close
Lewis 🤜🤛 Mercedes #F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/GBwANsTZeI
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 8, 2024
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen started the race in fourth place but was hit with a 10-second time penalty after a collision with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at the start.
The Red Bull driver was however able to recover and finish sixth ahead of Pierre Gasly who was able to secure the lucrative sixth spot for Alpine in the constructors’ championship.
Nico Hulkenberg was eighth for Haas while Fernando Alonso and Piastri completed the top 10.
Sergio Perez had another disappointing race after he suffered damage to his Red Bull in the opening lap from a collision with Valtteri Bottas and had to retire from the race.
Bottas, Franco Colapinto and Liam Lawson were the other retirements.
